Part of Scary Movie featuring Anna Faris, Regina Hall, Marlon Wayans, Shawn Wayans, and Keenen Ivory Wayans.
Rise to Fame
He grew up on film sets. His father is Martin Sheen, which meant Oliver Stone took his calls. Platoon (1986) made him a serious actor, not just a famous kid. Wall Street the following year made him a movie star. The Major League comedies through the late 80s and 90s added a different register. Then CBS handed him the lead in Two and a Half Men in 2003, and the show became one of the most-watched sitcoms in America. By 2010, he was earning $1.8 million per episode, the highest-paid actor on television.
In the Spotlight
The 2011 firing from Two and a Half Men wasn't just a career setback, it was a cultural event. The 'tiger blood' and 'winning' rants spread faster across the internet than any actual TV clip. Anger Management ran 100 episodes on FX through 2014, but nothing matched the scale of what he'd walked away from. Then in 2015, he disclosed on the Today show that he was HIV-positive, after people close to him tried extortion. His reappearance in Chuck Lorre's Bookie in 2023 was either a reconciliation or just good casting, depending on who you ask. He's been sober since 2017.
Side Notes
He testified at the Heidi Fleiss trial in 1995, admitting under oath he'd spent around $50,000 on 27 of her call girls. The story survived and he did too. His birth name is Carlos Estevez. His brother Emilio is the only Estevez who kept the name. His 2015 HIV disclosure became a documented public health event: researchers tracking online searches found the announcement generated about 2.75 million more HIV-related searches than expected in the three weeks that followed. His worst PR moment ended up being his most useful one.